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Toy Story Midway Mania has moved out of Soft Openings this weekend at Disney's Hollywood Studios and into regular production mode. If by "regular" you mean "regular breakdowns!" It's a complicated ride, so I'm willing to cut some slack here and not complain overly about the breakdowns, but ideally this is what the soft openings and the break-in period are supposed to be about. That's not ideal.

While I didn't get to ride it this past weekend, I have racked up multiple visits from the weekends prior and am completely hooked on this ride. My personal best score of 233,000 is nowhere close to the absolute pinnacle possible, though, so I am on a quest to learn all the secrets. As you may have heard, designers implanted a secret, or "Easter Egg", action into each of the scenes. If you want to maximize your score, you have to find each of these Easter Eggs.

Why does the sign not say "Midway" in the title of the attraction? This is likely one of those
times that a name was changed at the last minute, and Marketing didn't get the memo.

To that end, I've started to tally the Easter Eggs on my day website, UltimateOrlando.com, and I'll keep updating my list of secrets there as I learn new ones. Here's what I've got so far:

If there's a golden rule to this game, it's that some targets will trigger a new event if you hit it. The second event is worth way more points.

Barn Room (we shoot eggs)
Easter Egg: UNKNOWN

Other things to shoot at: I shoot the goat in the top corner (2,000 pts?) and the fox on the henhouse (500). The fox, once shot, triggers a series of 1,000 point chickens. The rat near the house at the top is worth a lot of points, but he doesn't come around very often.

Balloon Room (we shoot darts)
Easter Egg: Aim for the corners. If you knock out the balloons on the cloud, you get a shower of 500-point balloons covering the screen. This is key: if your partner does the same thing on HIS cloud at the same time (more or less), then what you trigger is a shower of 2,000 point balloons, rainbow colored.

Other things to shoot at: The characters are heard via voiceover, and Rex tells you to shoot the apples (which are worth 500 pts).

Green Army Men Plate Breaking Room (we shoot baseballs)
Easter Egg: UNKNOWN
There has got to be a trigger here somewhere for secondary targets that offer higher points. But I can't find it! So I'm stuck so far just shooting the 500 and 1000 point plates.

Other things to shoot at: There are golden plates that appear in the middle every so often, and in the sky, some jumping plates are worth big points also.

Alien Room (we shoot rings)
Easter Egg: put a ring around all the 100-point aliens in the rocket ship in the middle. Do it before any of them pops back up, and you trigger the "hungry monster" who opens his mouth and lets you rapid fire in your rings for 500 pts, then 1,000 pts a shot, and even 2,000 pts per shot. Get the monster to appear early to maximize your time with him; we find it effective to have me and my partner "split up" the spaceship to blanket it with rings very fast. Every so often, the monster keeps his mouth shut.

Shoot all the little aliens in the big ship, before any of them pop up again!

Other things to shoot at: Aim at 1,000 or 2,000 or the 5,000 point rocket ships on the side during this quiet time, but come back to the monster when he's ready.

Western Room (we shoot suction-cup arrows)
Easter Egg: UNKNOWN

Other things to shoot at: All the targets here splay open additional 500 and 1,000-point targets. Just keep shooting fast. Is there a hidden trick here? As we transition to the next screen: keep shooting as your vehicle moves to the next screen. Some 2,000 point targets appear near the middle.

Mine Cart Finale (we still shoot suction cup arrows)
Easter Egg: UNKNOWN

Other things to shoot at: Kill the bat at the top as soon as you see it. It flips around to reveal a 5,000 point target. Then, the mine cars start saying 1,000 or 2,000 points. This is key: the very instant a giant target fills your screen, start rapid firing and don't stop until it's all over. As you hit the target, lights around the outside of the target illuminate in order. After you make it all the way around, the target starts being worth 1,000 points and your lights start over. I can make it almost to halfway around the 2,000 points. But you have to be very quick.

To REALLY get the high scores for the day or for the month, what you need is a partner who is willing to work with you to open up all the bonus targets, but then let you gather all those points.

Can anyone with additional info – especially those missing Easter Eggs – please email me at [email protected]? This game is driving me nuts. I'd heard about the move toward interactivity and gaming way back in the late 90s, and I really thought the Imagineers had lost their mind. Now I see they were just being prescient. I really have to get back down there and play some more.

Major projects that Disney has announced publicly:

NEW! StormStruck to replace PlasticWorks at Innoventions. Opening in Fall 2008, StormStruck will let participants see and feel what 2004's Hurricane Charley felt like. They become involved by making snap decisions as the storm approaches, and then seeing how they did to protect the house. 3-D glasses will be used to enhance the realism.

NEW! Prince Caspian coming to DHS. The Narnia walkthrough exhibit near Pixar Place (and One Man's Dream) was originally themed to Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe, and is being redressed for Prince Caspian.

Three hotels (including Waldorf-Astoria) are being added to Bonnet Creek. These non-Disney hotels will be located in the non-Disney Bonnet Creek section of the property, joining a timeshare (Wyndham) already there, and another hotel erected from scratch, a Hilton. The Hilton will have 1,000 rooms, the posh Waldorf-Astoria just 500. Wyndham will also open a 400 room luxury hotel. All of this will join the timeshares now present here (a further 1,600 rooms) by 2009.

T-Rex Restaurant in Downtown Disney. Landry's, the external vendor who also runs Rainforest Cafe, will be building a T-Rex themed eatery, between Raglan Road and McDonald's.

DVC Suites at Animal Kingdom Lodge. Disney is adding an entire wing to DAK Lodge, and will fill the area formerly used for concierge level with suites as well. This new wing pushes out into the savannah.

Flamingo Crossings (formerly "Western Beltway Expansion"). Opening in 2009, this new region off 429 will be somewhat like Downtown Disney, only cheaper. Expect dining, shopping, and lodging options. The idea is to harvest the dollars of budget-minded tourists that otherwise would turn to SR-192 near the property.

Right next to this sign advertising space is one warning of dangerous indigo snakes.

Four Seasons hotel. The Four Seasons company, taken private in 2007 by Bill Gates and Saudi Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal (yes, the guy who has saved Disneyland Paris multiple times with infusions of cash), will be opening near the golf courses to the north-east of the Magic Kingdom.

Wide World of Sports new facility. The Jostens Center, an enclosed arena more than twice the size of the existing Milk House, will open in fall 2008. It will have six basketball courts, twelve volleyball courts, and two hockey rinks.

Smaller projects, and other news stories, that Disney has publicly announced.

NEW! Wide World of Sports to be rebranded to ESPN. There is no timetable yet, but Disney intends to leverage the ESPN brand (likely renaming the entire facility).

NEW! Cheesecake Factory closing in DisneyQuest. Disney now confirms that the Cheesecake Factory in DisneyQuest will close, and they will assume control of the food operations.

The new eatery will use the same location and offer its own quick service items.

NEW! Grad Nites moving to DHS. 2008 was the last year for visiting the Magic Kingdom during Grad Nites; starting in 2009, they will take place at DHS.

American Idol in the ABC Theater. Just before summer 2008, an American Idol type of production will move into the usually vacant ABC theater. Live participation by hopefuls and judges, all of which will be drawn from park visitors for the day, will yield several shows per day.

Treehouse Villas being remodeled. These huts tucked away in forests near Old Key West and Saratoga Springs had been used for college program kids, and in general rotting for years. New permits specify that Disney will be rebuilding them, but the proposed usage is not yet known.

Nintendo DS aid in the park. In January, Disney conducted a test for a new Nintendo DS cartridge that turns your device into a GPS and a "smart" device which can tell you news, attraction wait times, and give maps. For the trial, these are rentals, but will be available to purchase if the trial is successful.

Children under 10 banned at Victoria and Albert's. The expensive, 5-diamond fine dining establishment at the Grand Floridian, which costs $125/person and had no child's menu anyway, finally decided to disallow all children under 10.

Holiday surcharges at buffet meals. Expect all you can eat buffets to get more expensive from now on, when you're visiting during peak seasons. Disney has defined the most crowded dates to be 'holiday' dates and the prices will go up at buffets on those days: November 18-24, December 16-January 5, March 16-29, and May 25-July 5.

Automatic gratuity for DDE. Starting January 1, 2008, users of the Disney Dining Experience discount card ($85 annual cost; only available to Florida residents and Annual Passholders) will be subject to an automatic 18% gratuity, no matter how large the party. Previously only large parties had this gratuity added.

Parking went up by a dollar on Sept. 1. Starting on September 1, parking went to $11/car at all the WDW parks.

Disney Dining Plan no longer pays gratuity. Starting in 2008, all DDP plans will continue to pay for tax, but will no longer include gratuity. As 'compensation', the price is dropping by $1, to about $38/day. A new 'deluxe' category (DDDP) will be introduced that does include an appetizer, and in fact three full meals, but the cost will be about $69/day per adult (which still doesn't include gratuity). The DDDP does allow for up to three table service meals per day (or any mix of TS and CS desired)

Room reservations now date specific. Previously at Disney hotels, the start of your visit would determine the amount you paid per night, but under the rules now in effect, each night is assessed its own rate. Weekends will now be more expensive.

Projects that seem to be occurring (barring unforeseen circumstances), but Disney hasn't yet made a public announcement

No items at this time.

Future World central courtyard clutter. The mess of purple awnings and banners that provides a lot of visual clutter to the futuristic look of Epcot is likely to be removed in the near future.

Fantastic Plastics Works closing. In the not too distant future, the exhibit in Innoventions East that features a running simulator and the chance to build your very own plastic robot keepsake (for free, no less!) may be closing.

Backlot Theater being remodeled. Disney isn't saying what's going in the place of the theater once used for the Hunchback of Notre Dame show, but it's presumably related to the other rumors currently out there. The need to renovate the theater led to Osborne Lights beginning to be strung up in late August, much earlier than usual, since this theater was until recently used to store the Osborne Lights. The theater has received a new roof so far, and some online pundits call for a stage show here to be shielded from the elements.

Ratatouille-themed clone of DSP's Crush Coaster. The mostly-indoor Crush coaster at Disney Studios-Paris enjoys a great reputation and will be cloned at Pixar Place, likely with a Ratatouille theme. Earlier ideas included Monsters Inc. (specifically, the doors factory), but that appears shelved for now.

Star Tours revision. Anthony Daniels made unofficial mention in an interview of doing work for this attraction, to open in 2009, so it seems all but certain. Polarized glasses will be used for a 3-D effect, and some rumors call for three Audio-Animatronics figures. If reports are true, an IMAX screen may also be used, with the front and top of the simulator at times opening up to see the larger screen.

E-Ticket in Disney's Hollywood Studios by 2010. Cast Members have been told to expect a new E-Ticket ride in 2010, though it's not clear if this means the Star Tours rehab or a whole new attraction. Alternate reports make mention of a major project for 2008 and another one for 2009, indicating that even if Star Tours is one of the rides, another one may be in the offing.

Backlot Tram Tour closure. After 2008, the Backlot Tram Tour may fade into Yester-World, to create room for an expansion of Pixar Place.

Journey into Narnia update to Prince Caspian. In early 2008, the existing Narnia walkthrough will close and be replaced by sets related to the second movie in the series, Prince Caspian.

"Meet Mickey" new home. The Sorcerer Mickey meet and greet may be moving into the Disney Animation building, where it's rumored to receive its own permanent backdrop from Fantasia for picture-taking.

Rivers of Light. The Rivers of Light is an idea for an after-dark parade at Disney's Animal Kingdom. This park will finally have a reason to stay open after the animals return home at dusk. Millions of dollars have reportedly already been spent in infrastructure. It is unknown if the parade would use the same parade route already in use (despite its name, it's not a water-based parade).

UPDATED! Bay Lake Tower = DVC Suites at the Contemporary Resort. Still unannounced, a new building will be replacing the now-razed North Wing of the Contemporary, to house only DVC Suites. It will connect via breezeway to the 4th floor "grand canyon concourse" and thus has easy access to the restaurants. Filings with local government at first implied the name will be Kingdom Tower, but the correct name appears to be Bay Lake Tower.

The restaurant shuffle is being done to give those from the
Tower a fast food option on the same floor as their walkway.

Contemporary Resort restaurant shuffle. The Food and Fun Center on the first floor will be converted a table service location called The Wave, to open in Spring 2008. The Concourse Steakhouse will close, and a counter service restaurant will replace it (starting with a temporary one this summer, called Tempo Grab and Go). All of this is being done to increase the amount of quick-service available on the fourth floor, which will be even busier once the breezeway to the DVC building opens a few years later. The steakhouse will close on May 11, 2008, and the Tempo Grab and Go will open by Fall 2008.

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© 2008 Kevin Yee